Harry Potter & Life After Voldemort
by kaycross1184
Summary: Post-DH. Voldemort is dead. Harry has survived. But can he live in a world where he's not constantly in danger? Currently planning on covering the first ten years between the Battle of Hogwarts and the epilogue.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One: A Morning of Mourning**

Harry sat at the Weasley's kitchen table, quietly and reluctantly eating breakfast. The Weasley's house always used to be full of laughter and merriment. But since the death of Fred a week earlier, all the joy seemed to have been sucked out of the Weasley family. Mrs. Weasley couldn't stop crying. Mr. Weasley tried to keep busy, tinkering with his Muggle toys out in the shed. And George…well, George just sat and stared into space. Percy was taking it hard, too, since he'd only been reunited with his family hours before Fred's death.

It wasn't just that they were grieving, though. No one except Hermione seemed to be able to look at him. Even Ron wouldn't. It made for a very lonely stay at the Weasleys, something he had never experienced there before. Poor Hermione was left trying to comfort both Ron and Harry. He felt guilty for taking her away from Ron though, so he tried not to take up too much of her time.

And besides, it was understandable. Harry was grieving, too. It wasn't just Fred who had been lost. Tonks and Lupin were gone, too. Poor Teddy, his godson, would grow up without ever knowing his parents, just as Harry had. Little Colin Creavey had died, too.

And Snape. Harry still couldn't believe it. Snape had been protecting him his whole life because he had loved Harry's mother since childhood and ended up getting her killed. Harry still didn't like the man, but he could no longer hate him. With Snape's death, Harry had developed a newfound respect for the former professor.

Ginny's sniffles broke Harry out of his musings. She hadn't spoken to him once in the last three days, wouldn't let him even touch her. Harry couldn't take it anymore. He threw down his fork and stood up. "Why don't I go ahead and leave for Hogwarts? I'll make sure we have plenty of seats near…near…" he trailed off quietly. He couldn't bring himself to say the words.

Hermione jumped up. "I'll come with you, Harry." He smiled at her appreciatively. No one else even looked up at them. Harry nodded to himself. "Right then. See you soon." He glanced over at Ginny and gave her a small smile, which she ignored. Then he and Hermione went outside and apparated to Hogsmeade.

When they reappeared, they saw that they weren't the only ones arriving early for the mass funeral service. It wouldn't start for another hour, but the little wizarding village was already even more crowded than when the students would visit on the weekends. It shouldn't have surprised Harry, although it did. It wasn't just his loved ones who had died. Over fifty students and their family members had died in that final battle. Over fifty students and their family members had died defending the school against Voldemort and his Death Eaters. Harry expected the whole school would come, plus their families and many Ministry officials.

Harry and Hermione quietly made their way up from the village to the Quidditch pitch where the dead had been laid out. The spectator stands were in ruins. The giants had overrun them during the battle. All three hoops at one end, plus two at the other, had been knocked down.

"Makes it real, doesn't it? To see the destruction?" Hermione said. "Back at the Burrow, you can almost forget the fighting sometimes, and the killing, and the dying. But when you come back here, you see it. And you realize nothing will ever be the same again."

Harry looked over to see her quietly crying. He put an arm around her shoulder and pulled her close. "It'll be okay, Hermione. It'll be okay. Come on, let's go find Fred."

They found him about half way between the former goal posts on the side closest to the school. On the way, they also saw Tonks and Lupin laid next to each other. Harry decided he would say goodbye to them after the service. Right now, he would be there for the Weasleys.

They found nine seats together right beside Fred's coffin and sat down next to each other to wait. They didn't say anything. There didn't seem to be anything to say. After a few minutes, Bill and Fleur showed up. They sat down next to Harry without a word. Fleur leaned against Bill's shoulder while Bill just stared at the ground. Harry had never seen him so quiet and subdued.

Soon the rest of the Weasley's showed up. Hermione scooted over so Ginny could sit next to him, but she went and sat beside Bill instead. Hermione gave him an apologetic look that said he tried as Ron sat in the empty seat instead. Harry gave her a grim smile back in return. He understood. She was blaming him for Fred's death. He knew Ginny would forgive him eventually. He just had to give her time and space.

He turned back to the podium that had been set up at one end of the Quidditch pitch and watched as Kingsley Shacklebolt stepped forward. The interim-Minister began to speak to the crowd. He spoke of the bravery of those who died, of their willing sacrifice to defeat Voldemort. He spoke of the loss of the friends and families who remained and how they would grieve for their departed loved ones. He also spoke about how they would continue to live, knowing their world was now a better one, thanks to the actions of those they were honoring. "Let us never forget them, but let us continue to live for them," Shacklebolt concluded. With that, he turned and left the podium.

As the crowd of mourners began to go their separate ways, the Weasleys continued to just sit there and stare. Harry felt even more like an outsider than he had already been feeling, like he was trespassing on their privacy.

"I'll, er, I'll just go see if I can find Tonks's mom. See if she needs help with Teddy, or something." Once again, no one looked up at him, so he turned and left quietly.

Harry found Andromeda Tonks sitting with her grandson in her lap in front of her daughter's coffin. She was a tall woman, with dark blonde hair, though it had a few streaks of grey in it. He could see the resemblance to both her sisters, Bellatrix Lestrange and Narcissa Malfoy. Her appearance seemed much kinder and more approachable than that of her sisters. More mother-like. As he drew closer, he saw that her shoulders were shaking as she sobbed quietly.

"Mrs. Tonks? I don't know if you know who I am. My name is—"

"Harry Potter. Of course I know who you are. Remus and Tonks talked very highly of you," she said, looking up at him. She dried her eyes on the sleeve of her robe. "It's nice to finally meet you. How are you doing? Getting along okay?" She patted the seat next to herself as an invitation to sit.

He took a deep breath and sighed. "Well, things have been better, I suppose. And worse, in some ways. I'm staying with the Weasleys right now. Don't really have anywhere else to go except Sirius's house in London, but I don't want to be there alone. I'm not sure I'll be there much longer, though. I don't seem to be their favorite person right now…" he trailed off.

"Whatever makes you think that, dear?" she asked him.

"No one really talks to me, or even looks at me for that matter. It's like I'm invisible or something. I know they are probably just grieving, but I feel like they blame me. I never wanted anyone to die. Certainly not Fred or Tonks or Lupin. He was like a brother to me. And Ginny…" Harry paused and glanced up at her. He saw fresh tears in her eyes and felt bad. "I'm sorry. I don't need to burden you with my problem when you've lost loved ones, too."

She dried her eyes again and enveloped him in a hug. "Nonsense, Harry. You loved them, too. I know the Weasleys are the family you've never had. And Remus thought of you as a nephew. I'm sure you're right about them just grieving; they'll come around soon. But if things don't get better soon, you feel free to send me an owl and you can come stay with me for a bit. After all, Teddy will need his godfather around more than ever now that his mum and dad are gone. I'm sure you know how that feels."

Harry smiled at her and nodded. "Thank you, Mrs. Tonks. I appreciate that."

"Anytime, dear. But no more of that Mrs. Tonks nonsense. You call me Dromeda, alright?" Harry nodded.

"I should get back to them. And Miss–, er, Andy, if you need anything, you just let me know. Even if it's just a few hours without the baby, I'll help however I can."

"Thank you, Harry. I'll let you know. Run along now."

Harry set off back towards the Weasleys. About halfway there, he was stopped by Kingsley Shacklebolt.

"Mr. Potter, I'd like a word, if you have a minute."

Harry looked towards the Weasleys. hey were still sitting there with no sign that they'd be leaving anytime soon. "Sure, Minister. What can I do for you?"

"Well, as you know, I'm only the interim Minister right now. New elections won't be able to be organized for a few weeks at the earliest. But the Ministry can't afford to wait until then. e need to round up the rest of the Death Eaters that have slipped away. We also need to get a handle on all of the crimes that have been allowed to go unacknowledged and unpunished while Voldemort had control of the Ministry. I was wondering if you, Ron, and Hermione would help me out I know you haven't finished school yet, but I have no doubt of your abilities. I think your NEWTs can wait a bit until things settle down. That is, if you're willing to help."

Harry bristled at the thought that there were still Death Eaters running around out there. "I'll help you, sir. When do you want me to start?"

"How about Monday? That's three days from now. Is that too soon?" he asked.

"Monday will be fine, sir. I'll ask Ron and Hermione and owl you their answers. You might also ask Neville Longbottom if he wants to help."

"Thank you, Harry. I will. See you then." And with that the former Auror walked off.

Harry continued on back to the Weasleys, who had finally started moving around. No one looked particularly enthusiastic about going back to the Burrow, though. For that matter, Harry wasn't either. Not if it meant no one but Hermione would look at or talk to him. Harry didn't know what to do to make amends. He couldn't bring Fred back. Merlin knows he would if he could.

Harry sighed. Maybe he should take Andy up on her offer to stay there. He didn't want to leave the only family he'd ever known, but if they didn't want him there, maybe it was for the best. With a grim determination, he decided to tell Ron and Hermione about Shacklebolt's request after lunch and then decide if he should leave or not. He probably should have gone ahead and asked Andy where she lived. Well, he could always go to Diagon Alley first and send her an owl from there, since he didn't have Hedwig anymore. That thought depressed Harry even more.

Disapparating and reappearing moments later in the Weasleys' kitchen, Harry saw Mrs. Weasley and Ginny getting lunch together. Bread and cheese and meat were flying through the air, while Ginny was laying out the plates and cups.

Looking at Ginny, Harry felt sad and lonely again. A year ago, they had been spending every spare moment enjoying each other's company at Hogwarts. Now she wouldn't even acknowledge him. He had hoped that they would get back together once he had defeated Voldemort. He thought she knew he loved her, and that the separation was just to protect her.

After lunch, Harry decided it was now or never to find out if he'd be staying. He leaned over to Hermione and said, "I need to talk to you and Ron about something. Upstairs?" She nodded to him and said they'd be up there in a minute.

Harry stood up and went to Ron's room. Hermione and Ron showed up a minute later. "What's up, Harry?"

"Kingsley Shacklebolt stopped me at the…" he glanced at Ron, "earlier today. He was wondering if we would join the Aurors and help round up some of the Death Eaters that are still on the run."

Hermione looked up at him in confusion. "Join the Aurors? But we haven't taken our NEWTs yet. We don't qualify."

"Yeah, he said he'd worry about those later. Said he knew we knew what we were doing. he important thing was to catch those murderers before they caused anymore problems or got away for good."

Hermione glanced over at Ron, who still hadn't looked up. "I'm not sure, Harry. I had wanted to go get my parents back from Australia and fix their memories. When would he want us to start?"

"Monday, if we can. I told him I'd send him an owl with your answers."

"I see," Hermione said slowly. "I'll need to think about it Harry. I'll let you know by Sunday."

Harry nodded. "That's fine, Hermione. I know you're tired of all the fighting, and that's not really where you wanted to be in the Ministry. Don't feel like you have to do anything you don't want to." He turned to Ron. "What do you say, mate? Are you in?"

Ron just stared at his feet, no indication that he had even heard Harry. Harry waited a moment, then took a deep breath and said, "Well, you think on it and let me know. In the meantime, Tonks's mom asked me if I wanted to go stay with her and Teddy for a little while. I think it's probably a good idea. Give me a chance to get to know my godson, and give you guys some time to be by yourselves without me to here to remind you about…everything."

Ron still didn't even look up. The only reaction he got was Hermione looking up at him with her eyes big and wide. "What? Harry, you can't leave! Ron, tell him!"

He stood up and went over to the cot he'd been using in Ron's room to start gathering the few belongings that he had left: his dad's cloak, his photo album of his parents, a few changes of clothes, and his wand. He stuffed them in his rucksack and then turned back around to Ron and Hermione.

Hermione was shaking Ron, trying to get him to say something, anything to get Harry to stay.

"It's okay, really, Hermione. I'll just go down and say goodbye to everyone else," he said. Harry picked up his bag and walked back downstairs.

He found the rest of the Weasleys gathered in the living room, some crying, some talking quietly. He stood in the doorway and slowly everyone turned to look at him as they noticed he was carrying his rucksack.

He cleared his throat nervously. "I just wanted to say goodbye. I'm going to go stay with Andromeda Tonks for a little bit, maybe look for a place of my own. I don't want to intrude on you guys anymore." Everyone just stared at him. "Er, thank you. For everything you've done for me over the years and letting me be a part of your family for a little while." Still no one said anything. "Right, um, I'll see you around then." And with that he turned around, walked out into the garden, and apparated to the Leaky Cauldron.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two: Chestnut Lodge**

The Leaky Cauldron was empty for the most part when Harry arrived at the hidden entrance to Diagon Alley. Harry supposed most people were either still in the dark about Voldemort's defeat or had yet to return from hiding, even if they had heard about it. He couldn't blame them. For all they knew, it could have been a trick to lure Muggle-borns out of hiding.

He went up to the barkeeper, Tom, and requested a room for a couple of nights. After stowing his stuff, he headed out back, where he proceeded to tap the bricks and enter the hidden alley that was the commercial center of the wizarding world in Great Britain.

He immediately noticed that, like the Leaky Cauldron, Diagon Alley was fairly empty compared to its usual bustling atmosphere. Several shops were still closed, although Harry was glad to see that Olivander was back in his shop making and selling wands. Madam Malkin's Robe Shop and the Magical Menagerie were also open. Sadly, Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor was still closed, since Voldemort's people had killed the poor man. And of course, Weasley's Wizard Wheezes was currently closed. Harry wondered if George would continue to run it.

Continuing along the way, Harry drew up in front of Gringott's. The damage caused by the dragon when Hermione, Ron, and he broke out of the bank just weeks earlier was still visible, though the goblins were well on their way to having the wizard bank repaired. Harry felt guilty for the damage done to it and momentarily hesitated to go inside incase the goblins had found out he was a party to the damage. He didn't think he could deal with anymore people being angry at him for anything else.

Harry took a deep breath and headed into the bank. Upon entering, he walked up to the nearest goblin and asked to see his vault, number 687.

"Ah, Mr. Potter, we've been needing to see you, sir, about a very important matter. If you will, please wait here and have a seat. I must inform Orgnug that you have arrived." The goblin walked off before Harry could answer. He sighed, figured he knew what was coming next, but took a seat to wait anyway.

When the little goblin returned, he was accompanied by a second goblin. Harry could tell this one was more important because he was wearing nicer clothing than the first. Harry also noticed he was carrying a rather thick roll of parchment.

"Mr. Potter, so good to see you. My name is Orgnug and I'm in charge of trust and wills. You'll be pleased to know that your trust fund has been transferred to your family vault and that you will now be able to access all your assets, including your inheritance from both the Potter family and the Black family." Harry stood there in disbelief and wonder while the goblin continued." In addition, you may now take control of your properties in Godric's Hollow, Hogsmeade, and London."

"My properties? You mean…like…houses?" Harry asked.

"Indeed, Mr. Potter. I believe there are four all together. As well as several commercial and rental properties," the goblin replied.

"Commercial properties?" Harry said incredulously. "Er, do you know about how much gold I have?"

"Approximately 2,498,172,368 galleons, 16 sickles, and 4 knuts, sir," he replied once again. "If you have no further questions, we'll take you to your vault now." Harry was stunned. With that much gold, he'd never need to work again if he didn't want to. And he was bringing in money from other businesses, too! He absentmindedly nodded to Orgnug and followed him down into the caverns.

When they arrived at his new vault, number 827, Harry as once again stunned by the amount of gold inside it. He quickly decided to grab a few extra bags in addition to what he had already planned on withdrawing. Even if the Weasleys weren't talking to him, they were still his family, and he wanted to pay them back for everything they'd done for him.

Once he was back out in Diagon Alley, Harry went straight to the post office and sent a not to Andromeda asking for directions to her place. He then went back to the Leaky Cauldron to look at his inheritance papers.

At the top was an accounting of his Gringott's vault. Underneath that were listed the four houses he had inherited. Grimmauld Place was listed on there, but Harry already knew about that one. The others appeared to be the ancestral Potter family home in Devon, called Foxdown Manor, a small vacation cottage along the coast in Wales, and his parents' home in Godric's Hollow.

Harry stopped to process what he had just read. He owned the house in Godric's Hollow. It had never occurred to him that he would inherit more than just money from his parents. He thought back to the previous winter when he first saw the ruined cottage all covered in snow and ivy with its overgrown hedge. And the sign with all the encouraging comments from the wizarding world. Maybe it could be repaired…

Harry decided to think about that later. He continued looking at the parchment. After his houses, the commercial properties he owned and leased were listed, as well as a small description and the annual income for each location. A couple of places in Hogsmeade, as well as several in London and a few other places throughout England and Wales were on the list. He noticed that some of the places looked like Muggle locations. He found that interesting.

Nothing else really stuck out at him as particularly noteworthy, so he rolled the parchment back up and put it away in his bag before heading back downstairs for a meal. While he sat there eating his dinner, an owl dropped him a note. He tore it open and read it quickly. It was from Andromeda telling him how to get to her house. It wasn't far outside London, just in Sussex.

Harry decided to pack up now and leave. There was just one thing he wanted to do before leaving London. He hurriedly told Tom that he wouldn't need the room after all and to keep the money. Then he ran upstairs, grabbed his stuff and went back to Diagon Alley.

Walking into Magical Menagerie, Harry looked around at the many owls available for purchase. He passed by the snowy owls. He missed Hedwig, but he didn't want to be reminded of her every time he look at an owl. He passed tiny owls like Ron's, average sized owls, and great big owls, too. He finally settled on a male tawny owl with bright reddish-brown coloring who looked particularly wise and named it Merlin.

After he paid the shopkeeper, Harry stepped back out into the alley with Merlin on his shoulder. "I'm going to apparated to Andromeda Tonks's house. Can you meet me there?" he asked. The owl nuzzled his cheek and then leapt into the air and took flight. Harry supposed that was a yes. With nothing else left to do, Harry turned on the spot and apparated to Andromeda's house.

When he reemerged, he was standing in a garden full of lush flowers and low hedges set into a hill, at the top of which was a two-story brick home that looked like it had seen a couple of centuries. Harry walked up to the front door and knocked on the door. While he waited for Andromeda to open it, he saw a sign over the front door saying "Chestnut Lodge." It seemed like a fitting name for the home.

The door opened and he was greeted by Andromeda. "Harry, I'm glad you came," she said and hugged him. "Come in, come in. Is that all you have with you?"

Harry glanced down at his bag. "Oh, yeah, well, we couldn't take much with us while we were on the run last year. And I haven't been back to my aunt and uncle's house for the rest of my stuff." Harry frowned as a thought occurred to him. "Actually, they don't even know it's safe for them to go back home yet. I suppose I'll need to go find them and let them know." The thought of seeing the Dursleys again, even if it was only briefly, was not pleasant. He had hoped to be done with them for good when he left Privet Drive last summer.

Andromeda ushered him into her living room. It was a cozy little room, with a fireplace, two armchairs, and a couch. Scattered about the room, Harry saw several photographs of Andromeda's family. Mostly he saw Ted and Tonks, but here and there, he saw others who must have been Ted's Muggle family, since the occupants weren't moving.

In a corner by the fireplace, Harry was a wooden cradle with a tiny bundle in it. He went over to it and bent down next to the sleeping baby in it. Teddy was barely a month old, and already an orphan. Harry thought it was so unfair that both their parents had been taken from them so soon. He swore to himself he would be a constant presence in Teddy's life.

Andromeda cleared her throat behind him. "I've some supper ready if you'd like to eat?"

Harry blinked. He hadn't realized so much time had passed while he watched Teddy sleep. "Okay," he said, and followed her into the kitchen.

Andromeda placed a plate of chicken with mashed potatoes and vegetables in front of him once he sat down. The very thought of eating, however, made him sick to his stomach. How could he eat when the Weasleys, the only family he had ever really had, weren't even speaking to him? He knew why, of course. It was cause of Fred. If Harry hadn't waited to go to Voldemort, Fred would still be alive. It was Harry's fault he was dead.

He couldn't blame them for feeling that way. He couldn't even forgive himself for it. But it still hurt. Ron was his best mate. And Ginny, she was the love of his life. Without her, he had no reason to live now. Well he had to live for Teddy. But there was no joy in living if Ginny hated him.

"Harry, you need to eat something, dear," Andromeda gently chided him. "Not eating won't make them come around any quicker."

Harry sighed and took a bit of his chicken without really tasting it. Before he could force himself to take another bite, though, there was a tapping on the window. He turned and saw Merlin at the window. Harry got up to let him in.

Before he could get to the window, however, he heard a commotion coming from the front garden. "That's strange," Andromeda said, frowning, "I wasn't expecting anybody. Best get your wand out, Harry. Better safe than sorry. You-Know-Who may be gone, but his loyal subjects are still out there."

Harry pulled out his wand and waited at the kitchen door in case Andromeda needed backup. As he watched Andromeda walk closer to the door, he started to get angry. The war was supposed to be over. They were supposed to be getting their lives back. They shouldn't have to worry about who was at the door, to worry that it was Death Eaters.

A muffled curse on the front step pulled Harry out of his musings. He couldn't recall ever hearing a Death Eater curse out loud while sneaking up on somebody.

Andromeda looked over her shoulder at him. She counted silently with her fingers _one, two, three_ and then through open the door. She was blocking his view of the door, so Harry couldn't tell who was at the door. But he could tell by Andromeda's silence and stillness that she was surprised at who she found.

Before he could think anything else, the silence was broken.

"…need to see Harry…"

"…left so suddenly…"

"Is he here?"

* * *

**Author's Note: I apologize for not updating sooner, but I suppose I should warn you that this will be irregularly updated. I'm a mother to a 4 month old that demands a lot of my time and can really only write late at night or when I'm slow at work. I hope you all will continue to read my story though. **

**I got an anonymous review on the last chapter saying that Harry had met Andromeda before. I could have swore he had, but couldn't find it in the book until it was pointed out to me. Thanks for the correction. However, I'm not going to change it cause it's not important to the plot at all. Besides, 10 months after a first meeting might as well mean not having met at all.**

**Thanks and please review. It encourages me to keep going.**


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note:

Sorry, I know everyone hates getting these instead of new chapters. I just wanted to let you know I haven't forgotten this story. I'm just kind of stuck on a really important conversation, so I haven't been able to write much on the third chapter. Real life keeps getting in the way. I work in a movie theater, and guess what comes out in TWO days….Harry Potter! (Imagine a really high pitched cross between a squeak and a scream.) Then after that it's the Thanksgiving rush and the Christmas rush. Sigh.

In the mean time, I saw a preview for another movie (Love and Other Drugs) and it gave me this great idea for a Dramione Marriage Law story. Check it out if you like.

I will replace this note with the new chapter once I get it finished. No promises on a timeline though, so don't hate me if it takes a while, please.

Until the next time,

Kaycross1184


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